Geisha Dreams
by Lady Chango
Summary: Kagome is sent to an okiya to become a geisha. It seems that she will not be able to live out her own dreams, but she comes to meet someone who may make it worthwhile. After all, geisha have dreams, too.
1. Chapter 1

Lady Chango: (watching a Fat Joe video) (gasps when she sees Joe wearing a blue chinchilla coat) How many innocent animals had to die to make that one coat? (cries)

I don't own Inu Yasha. Or a fur coat. No fur!

Geisha Dreams

Kagome had not remembered much of her father. What she did remember was that he was a solemn man, and perpetually in the bed, barely breathing, let alone moving. If she had known what death was, that was the way she'd have described her father's tiredness.

Her mother was dead. Kagome knew this because after a certain point in her childhood, the comfort she felt was gone. A bitter woman half her father's age replaced the comfort with aloof nonchalance. She'd become a lonely girl at that point.

One day, though, her father was able to get out of bed, and Kagome saw that he'd slept off every healthy pound on his body, and looked like nothing more than a frail old man.

"Come," he said to his only child, without a hint of warmth. He'd probably forgot how to be fatherly during that long nap. Kagome hopped behind him, happy she might have someone besides her cranky step mother to talk to.

He led her to the village cemetery, and stopped in front of two graves. One read Higurashi Sakura, and the other read Higurashi Souta. They had the same family name as her father, she noticed.

"This was your mother, and this was your brother," he said, indicating the grave markers. "She died while giving birth to him."

A feeling of dread washed over Kagome. He hadn't shown her this for no reason.

"Kagome, I will not be on this earth much longer..."

The tears were beginning to fall.

"And Nakaru will not care for you."

Her head began to spin.

"And so..."

She heard no more of what he said, but she knew it wasn't good. Her world became dark as she dropped to her knees. Kagome wished she could die at that moment, because her life was over as far as she was concerned.

* * *

It was a rainy day her father died. Nakura looked at her with even more disdain. Only hours after her father died, a man in a carriage came for her. He was ugly, warty and green. She realized that he was a frog demon.

"Come on!" he croaked.

When she didn't get on immediately, Nakura grabbed her and tossed her in the back, with a bag of the few things she possessed. She went back into the house, not even sparing the girl a glance as the carriage rolled off. It was just as well, Kagome never had liked the woman. She felt comforted in the fact that she would never see the hag again.

But now she turned her attention to the long dirt road to the city. It winded through forests and other villages until it reached their destination. Almost like her life.

* * *

The city was busy and full of color and excitement, unlike Kagome's little village. They stopped in front of a quaint, clean little building.

The frog knocked on the door, and was promptly sandwiched between the door and the outermost wall when someone opened the door. It was a young girl about Kagome's age, with brown hair and hazel eyes. An old woman, so old she was bent double, came in behind her.

"So, this be the new girl, Jaken?" the woman asked, a question probably meant for the frog. "Jaken, ye must learn to stay clear of the door," she said, shaking her head.

Jaken glared at the old woman, and mumbled, "Aye, that she is, Kaede."

"Ah, she is a pretty one." Kaede grabbed Kagome's chin with a hand as gnarled and wrinkled as a tree, and looked into her cerulean blue eyes. "And beautiful eyes. I practically kidnaped you!" She cackled to herself, and Kagome fancied she looked a bit like a witch.

Releasing her chin, Kaede hobbled back into the house. Figuring she was to follow, Kagome grabbed her rucksack and went after her. The old woman was trailed by the scent of tobacco and incense.

"Sango! Clean Kikyo's room while she's gone."

The girl scampered off to what Kagome supposed was Kikyo's room. Peeking inside, she saw how the floor was covered with beer bottles and cigarette butts. She walked the rest of the length of the hallway into Kaede's room and found the woman lighting a long pipe. The thick smoke quickly made the room foggy, and Kagome's blue eyes began to water.

Kaede wasn't bothered by the smell. She tapped the pipe and stuck it in her mouth. "Ye seem like a smart girl, so I will only give ye a few rules and have ye draw thy own conclusions from what I tell ye." She blew another puff of smoke from her lips. "Kikyo is our best geisha. She pays for every luxury you receive here."

As far as Kagome could see, she concluded that there weren't many 'luxuries.'

"Since she is our best, ye should be keen to stay out of her way. Do thy best not to anger her, or else she will do her best to make ye life here hellish." Putting the pipe out, she began to refresh it with new tobacco. "You shall follow the rules, and, in good time, become a geisha. You may want to escape..." - here she fixed her beady eyes on her - "...but know that the worst geisha in Gion will be more content than you on the street. It is in ye best interest to stay put. Maybe ye will do better than Kikyo one day. Then again, maybe ye won't."

This was rather ominous in Kagome's mind, and her common sense agreed that is was indeed in her best interest to do as Kaede said. For three weeks she was like an obedient dog, answering to Kaede's every beck and call, satisfying her whims, and finishing her chores.

In her fourth week, Kagome was allowed to go to school.


	2. Chapter 2

_For where the beginning is, there will the end be. _

Lady Chango: I feel so inspired! New stories galore! Not to mention the fact that I've been writing after so long. I've made a bit of progress, I like to think. Read my stories!

And I don't own Inu Yasha.

Geisha Dreams

The spring day was beautiful, as the cherry blossoms were in full bloom and the sun warmed Kagome's back. Kagome's shamisen thumped against her thigh in a steady rhythm, and she found herself humming. She couldn't understand why she was acting happy, for she'd only come to the okiya a few weeks before. Yet that part of her life seemed so far gone.

Kagome walked with Sango from their school. Sango looked straight ahead with a vacant look in her eyes, and Kagome patted her on the shoulder in a friendly manner. The girl looked at her curiously, as if gauging her emotion.

"Isn't it a nice day?"

Sango shrugged. "I suppose."

"Oh, Sango," Kagome said happily and took her friend's hands in her own. "Be happy!"

They cut through the park, where a small bridge was built over the river. They stopped on the bridge and looked into the clear water, where cherry blossoms floated with ease.

"What are you doing?"

Kagome turned and saw a beautiful pair of topaz eyes. The person who owned them was a small boy, wearing a luscious red haori and no shoes on his feet. His hair was snowy white, and he had cute little dog ears.

"Oh!" Kagome exclaimed. "You're a hanyou."

The hanyou scoffed. "No I'm not, I'm a powerful demon!"

Kagome shook her head, quite sure of herself. She touched the tip of his ear. "You're a hanyou. And a cute one at that!" She giggled when the boy turned red, and she began to massage the baby soft ear.

"Who are you?" the boy managed to ask, even though he was leaning into her hand.

Without releasing his ear, she said, "I'm Kagome, of the Akemi okiya."

"You are a geisha?"

"A maiko."

"I am Inu Yasha." He grabbed her hand and looked deeply into her eyes. "I will be your _danna _one day," he said. Kagome was at a loss for words until she heard a ruckus a few feet away.

"Hentai!" They heard a resounding slap and turned to see Sango walking towards them followed by a pony-tailed boy who sported a red hand print on his face.

"Miroku," Inu Yasha said lowly, a growl evident in his voice. It was unclear if he was mad at Miroku for ruining the moment or touching a young girl.

"Forgive me, Sango, but I find it hard to control myself around pretty girls," the boy said truthfully.

"Miroku, you're ten. I can't believe you're a pervert at such a young age!" Inu Yasha shook his head at his friend.

"Once again," Miroku began, getting on one knee and taking Sango's hand. "I apologize. Please accept my kiss as a sufficient apology." Sango did not compute this in time, and Miroku kissed her on the lips. Blushing furiously, Sango pushed him away and began stomping back to the okiya.

"Kagome, when you become a geisha, I will become your danna." In her hand he put a jewel that shone with an unnatural light. "Please do not give your heart to another."

He walked off, pulling Miroku along. Kagome held the jewel tight in her grip, and felt the warmth radiate from it. She looked at it and wondered how something so simple could be so beautiful. It was attached to a simple chain, so she hung it around her neck under her shirt in order to keep it close to her heart.


End file.
